Proud of the decisions we made against Bulgaria, admits Tyrone Mings
England player Tyrone Mings says he and his team-mates could hear the racist abuse "as clear as day" but "everybody made the decision" to continue the Euro 2020 qualifier against Bulgaria. England came out with a 6-0 victory against Bulgaria in Sofia despite many England players racially abused.
The Euro 2020 qualifier between England and Bulgaria saw a lot of drama off the pitch as the play was halted twice in the first half due to racial abuse against England players from home supporters. According to the UEFA protocol, the Three Lions had the option to walk off the pitch and halt the play until the abuse was stopped but they played the entire 90 minutes and won comfortably 6-0. While speaking to BBC, English centre-back Tyrone Mings said how proud he was of the team after their display.
"I am very proud of everyone for the decisions we made. I went to Harry Kane first. He spoke to the manager, who then spoke to the fourth officials. Everyone was aware of it but we ultimately let our football do the talking and didn't get distracted by anything. Just before the end of the first half the appropriate next step was to return to the changing room. We made a common-sense decision to play the remaining few minutes and decided at half-time. Everybody made the decision," Mings told BBC Radio 5 Live after his England debut.
The Bulgaria supporters racially abused a number of England players including Raheem Sterling and Tyrone Mings. Abuse in the form of Nazi salutes and monkey chanting were aimed at Mings and other players. The play was first stopped for the first time just before the half-hour mark. This was when the referee came to the dug-out to let Gareth Southgate know that the team can walk off the pitch following the abuse from Bulgarians. The game then continued until 43rd minute when the game was brought to a halt for the second time.
However, the Three Lions came back from a shocking loss against the Czech Republic and defeated Bulgaria 6-0 which ensured their qualification for Euro 2020 as Marus Rashford, Harry Kane, Sterling and Ross Barkley all scored for Southgate’s men. Mings went on to admit that the entire squad spoke about the incident during the half-time break and further added that he is proud of the way the team handled everything.Â
“The manager, the team, the supporting staff. We spoke about it at half-time and we dealt with it and escalated it in the right way. I am proud of how we dealt with it and took the appropriate steps. I could hear it as clear as day. It doesn't affect me too much. I feel more sorry for those people who feel they have to have those opinions. It was a great night for me personally. It was a really proud moment in my career. I hope everyone enjoys this moment and it isn't overshadowed" concluded Mings.